FAQs

Officials

How do I become a Technical Official?

To become a Technical Official you need to attend a Local Technical Official course, for more information on the course please look here.

How do I progress through the officiating levels?

To progress you need to meet the pre-requisites for attending the next course and then complete the required theoretical and practical elements. For an outline of the pre-requisites for progressing please click here.

How can I find a course?

Who organises the courses?

The Local and Regional Technical Officials are organised by the Regional Programme Managers and they are the point of contact for these courses.

The National Techncial Official course is run by British Triathlon, and the Continental and International Technical Official courses are managed by the ITU.

What is covered in each of the courses?

For an overview of the course content please visit the applicable page for the course level you are looking at attending.

How do I arrange my shadows?

Once you have submitted your knowledge tester and it has been confirmed that you have successfully passed it, you will be provided with the details of your Regional Official's Coordinator and you should liaise with them to arrange your practical training.

If you want to shadow at an event that is not in your region you will need to contact the appropriate Regional Officials Coordinator to confirm that this is possible.

What equipment will I receive?

Once you have successfully completed your knowledge tester you will receive the essential items for your role - technical polo shirt, hat, whistle, lanyard, notepad and pen. When you have completed your shadow assignments, the logbook reports submitted and you have reached the required standard, you will then be sent your certificate and waterproof jacket, rucksack, and bar end tape.

Motorcycle Officials will initially receive the hi-vis vest, whistle, lanyard, notepad, pen and a copy of the Competition Rules; upon completion of the course the technical polo shirt, hat, screenblade and bungee cords will be sent out.

How will I be allocated to events?

The Officials Management System is used to allocate Technical Officials to events. It is recommended that Technical Officials review the new events regularly, and register their interest to attend. Regional Officials Coordinator will allocate Technical Official(s) from those who haev registered their interest.

Sometimes a Technical Official will be sourced directly by the Event Organiser. This could be because they have trained a Technical Official specifically for their events or because a Technical Official has officiated the event in previous years. The confirmation of these appointments still needs to be done via the Officials Management System.

Motorcycle Officials are allocated in the same way using the Officials Management System, and appointments are made by the Regional Motorcycle Coordinators. Once the Motorcycle Officials have been confirmed, the Event Registration Form must be submitted by the Event Organiser in advance of the event, so that the Motorcycle Officials are appropriately insured.

What should I wear?

Please wear your British Triathlon kit at all permitted events, with the technical polo shirt or waterproof jacket as the top layer. Where possible, wear any additional clothing that keeps within the colour scheme of the British Triathlon branding - blacks and greys are preferable for trousers or shorts, and blacks, greys and whites are preferable for base layers. Any dark, neutral colours however will be absolutley fine.

It is important that you look professional as you are representing British Triathlon and you want to ensure that the competitors and spectators are left with a good impression. Don't forget - you will be on your feet for long periods of time and the weather in Britain can be changeable so wear comfortable, appropriate footwear!